photoperiod expander

[opabinia]

sunsplosion off

SUNSPLOSION ON

Behold! 23W x 8 = 184W of compact fluorescent magnificence. It's like having an 800W incandescent bulb. Color temp is 2700K, so it's downright balmy-looking. I have no idea what the output spectrum is.

Comments

[pir.livejournal.com]

The question is... why?

[lepidosiren.livejournal.com]

[pir.livejournal.com]

They're full spectrum bulbs, then?

[lepidosiren.livejournal.com]

I have no idea what the output spectrum is.

[pir.livejournal.com]

I was under the impression that full spectrum (minus UV) were what was wanted.

[lepidosiren.livejournal.com]

You are correct, but this seems to be helpful as it is. Now that it's up and running, I can look into replacing the bulbs with full-spectrum units.

[industrialsteve.livejournal.com]

did you make this to help your s.a.d.?

[lepidosiren.livejournal.com]

No! To combat it.

[iterum.livejournal.com]

GOOD ANSWER.

[talesinsdaughtr.livejournal.com]

Is this for you or the fish?

[lepidosiren.livejournal.com]

When I had more aquatic plants, I thought about building something like this for them. This one's just for me, though.

[atalanta.livejournal.com]

good luck!

you need full-spectrum. glad the fake sunsplosion seems to help though!

[alonewiththemoon]

[lepidosiren.livejournal.com]

KANEDA WHAT DO YOU SEE

[atalanta.livejournal.com]

it had such potential, didn't it?

[sephardic.livejournal.com]

well done ma'am.

[panzerkunst.livejournal.com]

WIN

[mfree.livejournal.com]

That wee switched lamp cord there, what's it's amperage rating?

Ruh-roh.

[lepidosiren.livejournal.com]

It's an SPT-1 18AWG, so I assume 10 amps-ish. Am I gonna set the house on fire?

Re: Ruh-roh.

[mesatchornug.livejournal.com]

as long as your joints are clean and protected it'll be fine. 184W at 120V is only 1.5A, unless you're seeing a 10x start-up voltage spike, everything should be ok. of course, if you find things smelling like burning rubber you may want to look it al lover

Re: Ruh-roh.

[mfree.livejournal.com]

No houseburnination. I looked at it real fast this morning and got a wierd number in my head instead of the real amperage. No problem at all.

[pat-man-ta.livejournal.com]

you'll want to put a couple "daylight" bulbs in there to get a better spectrum.

i used them on a 5.5 nano reef for years with great results.

and a reflector of some sort will help as well. polished aluminum is the best but even the shiny side of tinfoil will be better than nothing.

...you mounted those on a coat rack didn't you?!?!

[lepidosiren.livejournal.com]

They're actually mounted to this bathroom fixture (http://tinyurl.com/yfmcpxp)* -- I just capped the ground and connected the thing to a lamp cord. Each of the fixture's four sockets is holding a twin lamp socket adapter.

Yeah, the whole setup would need some refinement for aquarium use. This is just so I can have bright ambient light all winter. :)

* Found it for $12 at the Everett store.

[pat-man-ta.livejournal.com]

swap in a few "daylight" bulbs when you can.

it does make a difference!

*shudder*

[deadwinter.livejournal.com]

I'm curious as to how you actually use it.

[lepidosiren.livejournal.com]

I know that some sources suggest specific exposure times and durations, but all I really do is switch it on while I'm in my bedroom.

[znuh.livejournal.com]

This will go well with the strobe in the bathroom.

[lepidosiren.livejournal.com]

Oh, man. I should put a strobe over the toilet. Imagine (http://techtv.mit.edu/tags/1784-strobe/videos/927-water-piddler-amp-strobe-demo).

[seishino.livejournal.com]

These are great to wake up to. I recommend attaching it to a timer.

Oh, and if you can't afford full spectrum flourescent (those things are a bit crazy), try varying the manufacturer of your bulbs. Each manufacturer uses a slightly different temperature of light and combination of colors, so mixing them can get you most of the way there. Be careful, though, there are only about 3 manufacturers, with most "manufacturers" just reselling those.